Refractory brickwork



Patented Dec. 23, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRACTORY BRICKWORKWilliam Rex Mcllain, Chicago, lll. Application August 10, 193i), SerialNo. 289,510 y 1 Claim.

'Ihis invention relates to refractory brickwork such as used in furnacebottoms and particularly in the bottoms of blast furnaces, although notlimited thereto.

Blast furnace hearths as commonlyvinstalled are usually made of standardbrick shapes of fire clay. Experience has show'n that a considerablenumber of the standard-shapes commonly used in hearth construction oatout of said hearths, thereby decreasing hearth and furnace life, andincreasing the risk of premature furnace shut-downs and the loss ofmetal, and concurrent hazards and costs. A

It is an object of this invention to eliminate or materially reducehearth brick oatation.

Anotherj object ofthis invention is the provision of a refractorybrickwork which is simple in design and one which is cheap and easy tomanufacture and install.

Still another object is to provide a keying arrangement whereby al1 thehorizontal joints in each key course is broken, thereby hindering tosome extent any horizontal ow and penetration of molten metal.

A further object is the provision of an eicient brickwork of the typedescribed in which a double row of bricks are keyed together.

The foregoing and further objects will be apparent after referring tothe drawing, in which:

Figure 1` is a perspective of the refractory brickwork of the presentinvention;

Figure 2 is a perspective of one of the refractory bricks which make upthe brickwork of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a perspective of one of the elements used to lock therefractory bricks in the positions shown in Figure 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 2 designates aseries of elongated refractory bricks `which are oblong in crosssection. The narrower sides of the refractory bricks 2 aretransverselyslotted adjacent one of their corresponding ends, theseslots-being rectangular in shape and designated at a. The width of eachof the slots 3, as illustrated bythe line I,

is the same as the thickness 5- of each of the bricks. The depth of eacho1' the slots 3.v desigcording Vto the construction of the presentinvention, one-quarter of a standard 9 inch x 4.5 inch x 2.25 inch brickwill snugly occupy one of the slots 3 in the bricks 2 rand one entirebrick will serve as a key for four of the bricks 2, providing, ofcourse, the latter are 18 inches x` 9 inches x 4.5 inches. In assemblingthe bricks 2 and keys, designated hereinafter at I0, the former areplaced upright with their grooves 3 adjacent their lower ends and withtheir narrower sides abutting. The next adjacent row of bricks 2 isidentically composed and with the abutted edges of the bricks 2 inalignment with respect to the abutted edges of the bricks of the firstrow. The next two' rows of bricks 2 and key bricks I0 are identicallycomposed but with the abutted edges of the bricks in alignment withrespect to each other but staggered with respect to the correspondingedges of the rst two rows.

According to the foregoing construction, the keys I0 are composed of astandard-sized brick while the bricks 2 are standard in shape except forthe keying grooves or slots, designated at 3. This provides not only fora refractory brickwork which is free from the objections referred tohereinbefore, but one which is inexpensive due to the fact that thebricks have thel standard size and shape characteristics referred to.

In this construction the horizontal joints formed by the keys are brokenby every second row of bricks.

While I have-shown and described one specic embodiment of the presentinvention,` it will be seen that I do not wishto be limited exactlythereto, since various modifications may be made without departing fromthe scope of the invention, as defined by the following claim.

I claim:

In a refractory brickwork, a pair of opposed rows of contactingsubstantially identical rectangular bricks similarly disposed inalignment, whereby the surfaces of the bricks of each row aresubstantially, flush, a similarly formed and disposed pair of opposedrows of bricks in contact with, but staggered with respect to, said cfirst-named pair of rows, the contacting faces nated by the line 6, isone-half of the thickness of thebricks' 2.

'Ihere are being manufactured at presentstandard refractory bricks ofthe form of the bricks 2 without the slots 3. As an example the 18 inchx 9'iucl'l x 4.5 inch brick 'is cited. 'Acof the bricks of eachrowhaving opposed rectangular recesses, thereby providing a keyway betweenfour bricks forming a pair of rows and extending at right angles to thesaidrows, and a rectangular key disposed in said keyway.

